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Sinner

by Stone Irr

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    Stone Irr's debut album 'Sinner' in 4-panel, 20pt SBS wallet with full color printing.

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    Stone Irr's debut album 'Sinner' on limited edition (of 100) smoky clear cassette tape.

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1.
Do not tell me when I can or cannot be depressed A sly smile tells you nothing But a record of my momentary act All for you, the viewer What does it mean when I masturbate on some rag And toss it on top of a note from my mother Is he a stronger man than I I feel as a misfit feels Of adulterous proportion And she knows and she groans Each hour is a grueling testament To what point I cannot stand Standing away in another state Should a change be made to stay away for good? It's just an act in my mind A second guess I guess it's what I do best When there’s no one near And I will hold you soon Not long enough until We're standing together in one state And she knows and she moans All night
2.
In My Mind 04:16
There's only so much to say About the pensive nature Of your eyes and of your smile Or the way you reflect in my mind Just give me time to stand back Breathe and take the fact That I'm obsessed and jealous For every right reason in my mind You can tell I'm being logical strain too much to add my voice Hiding behind one click That hid one song that was in my old mind All time is running out That's my ever present theme But stay to be the warmth in my sheets Because you're whole and perfect in my mind
3.
Oh I love you But who am I to say? Oh I love you But who are you to say?
4.
Wake full day by day Rustle my tongue on your face I can't even believe The shit I tell myself Focus on the good lord I haven't got the time The only guilt I feel now Is when they ask for dimes But I think these things Have a way of working out Even though we're hopeless And all live in doubt But I think these things Have a way of working out Even though we're pointless And all live in doubt Submerge my face down Look to see my friends Can't believe their mine Call my life sublime Call it second life
5.
Wabash 03:15
I'm feeling okay With myself But does that means Something else Show me only the best Show me some rest All of a sudden now I've upset myself With now wanting To not love you Show me only the best Show me some rest Anxiety again
6.
Muse 02:11
Couldn’t do this without you Couldn’t do this without you Can I not get better at Not having validations You are my artistic muse You
7.
The strain you provide To my frontal lobe Is just enough I cannot bear Repeats on repeat The feedback loop Is grating down my tolerance I love that you're gone But hate myself For thinking cruel thoughts each For thinking all this pain For wanting you my Signe To fade away
8.
Lighted Room 04:14
I've been drinking my coffee with milk in it I haven't done such things since I hung around bibles in parking lots Maybe a sign of something changing Or a sign that I need to change some things today Seems to be all I talk about Getting up and moving somewhere else How am I so content in discussing a topic out of reach Maybe I'm replacing heavenly goals with career goals I'm nothing but some fabric looking for warmth on someone else Someone like you Now I know what Jenny meant When she said she lit up a room I know because I've been in a room of darkness It's a shame I'm not someone else I should have been somebody else But that's what I get for not trying
9.
Driving in the rain Forces me to think Of the car crash I've not yet had But am going to soon Sight is fading All purpose is draining The rain falls The rain drops Please be upstanding The rain falls The rain drops Please be upstanding as I drop off this woman Into the puddle We talk the whole way home The sound is deafening Feels like my chest is collapsing But I know The water level Is rising for me And it’s rising for you And I know The water level Is rising for me And it’s rising for you
10.
Sinner 03:18
One of these days I'm gonna break Every heart that looks to the stage To see my face and hear my distress They tell me I'm fine They tell me I'm nice Say a prayer like I'm throwing dice Leave it in my head tonight I've moved on from God but the instincts still come through Maybe half the time How low I must feel in my mind Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil

about

The intimacy of being secretly hungover in church isn’t exclusive to the Midwest. Making eye contact and stifling a smirk during the walk back from communion has probably been a lovely irreverence for as long as there have been churches and young people. But that giddy fizz of a shared secret is only fraction of the story - it quickly turns to a headache and an hour of kneeling. Every joyous blur of a night comes with a sobering slide into the next day. Stone Irr’s debut full length record, 'Sinner', is a soundtrack to that transition: The space between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

'Sinner's blurry tone stems from a relationship ending as production of the album came to a close. As the songs went from being strummed and hummed in Stone’s bedroom, to maturing in Bloomington, Indiana basements and living rooms, it became clear that the unraveling love was an uncredited sculptor. So while some songs are rooted in moments of warmth, seeds of doubt grew in tandem with the music, creating songs that are hymns of praise or lament, depending on the day.

So 'Sinner' couldn’t help but be sexy and sad. Each song as guilty and lustful as a realistic love song should be. It’s present in “Wabash” and “In My Mind”, honest odes sung to the inane and tragic thoughts that come from trying to love someone. In “Strain Provided” and “What I Do Best” we see the cruel, honest face of a carefully examined relationship. And then we feel the tremors in “Oh I Love You”, when Stone meditates on moments of romantic self-doubt with the simple, but devastating, lyric of “Oh I love you / But who am I to say?”

For Stone, learning to question was fundamental to creating a stronger bond with your faith when he was growing up. But with this habit, when new moments of clarity are found, it’s hard to not take any catharsis and smash it with doubt. So we get songs like “Lighted Room” and “Sinner” where he gazes into his relationship with the divine and yet is still speaking to love. Showing how the impulse to purify can become self-immolation when you are trying to hunt down every flaw and atone for every sin. Struggling to parse joy from sorrow can be the same act as trying to tell if last night was worth it.

Through its turmoil, 'Sinner' provides an excuse for us all to be vulnerable. Immediately, it’s hard to not be disarmed by Stone’s voice. At its peak, a belted croon that bursts out of his small frame, but at other moments, and just as effortlessly, a controlled, welcoming whisper. His songwriting dips into the intimacy of early, Sufjan Stevens and the attractive brood of a Jeff Buckley album. The lyrics tapping into the open heart of The Antlers and doing the poetic work of early Elliott Smith. A start-to-finish listen is a ritual reminder of what laying yourself bare can yield: The possibility of loving and hurting, building and destroying, to be loud and to be soft. And this possibility is as intoxicating as it is terrifying.

'Sinner' holds that last bit of transcendence that an ex-believer and an ex-lover can conjure from remnants of their past passion. Pulling that last bit of belief out, to a wave of relief at least one more time. Leaving you saying to yourself, “Maybe this will be the thing that saves me.” Even as you are sneaking out the back door, so you can have a moment to compose yourself.

credits

released July 28, 2017

Songs: Stone Irr
Produced & Mixed: Aaron Smith
Mastered: Kate Haldrup
Cover Art: Raf Cronin

Thanks to: Nick F, Kayla B, Sam L, Raf C, Joey W, Alicia L, Aaron S, Harlan K, Kraegan G, Andrea K, Drew S, Austin G, Peter T, Mom and Dad

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about

Stone Irr Los Angeles, California

Stone Irr is the product of a special kind of Midwestern religious folk. Just start with the name: what seems like an obvious pun was, in fact, an honest mistake, and as soon as Stone's parents found out, they offered to take him to the Lafayette, Indiana courthouse and change it. He was already in middle school. True story. ... more

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